Two anti-immigrant bills seeking to expand collaboration between state agencies and federal immigration authorities have moved quickly through the North Carolina General Assembly and are very close to becoming law.

SB153, which seeks to force state law enforcement agencies such as the Highway Patrol, universities and local governments to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 60 to 45 after intense debate.

The legislation will not yet go to the governor’s office, as it will have to return to the Senate for it to ratify the changes made by the House of Representatives, where it advanced in just two days.

If Gov. Josh Stein vetoes the bill, Democrats could uphold the veto in the House of Representatives if they stick together as they did in Wednesday’s vote where everyone voted against, including Mecklenburg lawmaker Carla Cunningham, the only Democrat who had previously supported sheriffs’ collaboration with ICE.

La otra propuesta de ley antiinmigrante que empezó a moverse esta semana es HB318, la cual endurece las provisiones de la ley estatal HB10 aprobada el año pasado y que obliga a los alguaciles del estado a colaborar con ICE; fue aprobada el miércoles por el Comité Judicial 2 del Senado, y el jueves pasó en el Comité de Reglas, por lo que podría ser votada por la cámara alta en cualquier momento.

FIERY DEBATE

SB153 was approved on Wednesday after a fiery debate in which several Democratic representatives questioned provisions of the bill that is sponsored by the leader of the Senate, Republican Phil Berger.

Under the proposal, law enforcement agencies such as the Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Adult Corrections and the Department of Public Safety will have to sign collaboration agreements with ICE to identify and detain undocumented immigrants in the state.

If it becomes law, the state auditor, Republican Dave Boliek, will be in charge of auditing those state agencies to verify that they collaborate with ICE.

La representante Deb Butler, demócrata de New Hanover, dijo que experiencias anteriores han demostrado que la colaboración entre las agencias locales y el ICE hacen que menos víctimas y testigos reporten crímenes, y provocan casos de discriminación racial y violaciones de derechos por parte los agentes del orden.

” This bill is wrapped in the language of public safety, but its effect will be to create a culture of fear,” said Democratic Rep. Deb Butler of New Hanover County. ” And the consequences are not theoretical. They’re real and they’re harmful and they are measurable.”

Other Democratic representatives expressed their rejection of state agencies collaborating in the aggressive deportation campaign that ICE is executing throughout the country, using undercover agents who detain innocent immigrants, even legal residents and citizens, without due process.

Pricey Harrison, representing Guilford, recounted a recent case in Greensboro, where an eight-month pregnant U.S. citizen and her immigrant husband were detained and violently handcuffed by plainclothes ICE agents outside a laundromat.

“What is troubling to me, and should be troubling to all of us, is that these ICE agents appear on masked, refuse to identify themselves, and disrupt communities in their attempt to detain and deport as many people as possible with seemingly little regard for the law or individual rights,” Harrison said.

The same concern was expressed by Rep. Phil Rubin, D-Wake and former federal prosecutor, who claimed that in recent months ICE agents are repeatedly violating the constitutional rights of people, not only immigrants, but also U.S. citizens, and that SB153 will make state agencies participants in those violations.

“Until ICE rejects the lawful path, we should not increase cooperation. We must abide by our oath and uphold the constitutional rights of our citizens,” Rubin said. who regretted that the House refused to discuss an amendment to prevent such violations from being committed.

The amendment introduced by Democrat Caroline Logan, representative of Mecklenburg, added language to force state agencies that collaborate with ICE to do so while respecting due process and the constitutional rights of detainees. However, it was not admitted at the request of Wayne Republican John Bell.

Democrats also questioned a provision in SB153 that requires the Department of Health and Human Services and other state agencies to conduct audits to verify that no undocumented immigrant receives state-funded social benefits, which they said could deprive benefits to U.S. children of undocumented parents.

“This bill is mean spirited. It’s not a Christian. It’s not good. It’s not what we learn in church on Sundays,” said Rep. Abe Jones of Durham. “This is bad, bad legislation. It’s horrifically bad.”

Despite those concerns, the Republican majority voted as a block to approve SB153 after Rep. John Blust, of Guilford County, closed the debate arguing that collaboration with ICE is necessary because in the last four years there was no “due process” at the southern border, which, he said, allowed the illegal entry of millions of people.

“After four years without due process, all of sudden there are people who just love due process,” Blust said. “Due process is a red herring,” he concluded.

  • Este artículo fue actualizado el 5 de junio para reflejar la aprobación de HB318 en el Comité de Reglas y Operaciones del Senado.

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